Craft CMS enquiries from Portsmouth generally mean the install's in one of two states: ticking along unpatched, or genuinely causing problems with whoever built it unreachable.
Karl's the only person who ever works on it. He's worked in Craft CMS and ExpressionEngine exclusively since starting Expression 37 in 2007. You deal with him directly.
He checks what's genuinely in the install before recommending anything. Depending on the outcome, that's a fix, an upgrade, or an ongoing retainer.
Common questions Portsmouth clients ask:
How does the process actually start?
Karl goes through the real templates, plugins, and access setup before anything's quoted, because Portsmouth handovers often arrive with more assumptions than documentation, especially where anything sensitive is involved.
Working with someone not physically in Portsmouth, does that work?
Yes, without complication. Plugin review, deployment, testing, all handled remotely. A face-to-face conversation is never a real barrier when one's genuinely useful.
Our site handles defence-related or security-sensitive information, does that change your approach?
It changes the priorities. Access control, audit trails, and permission structures need proper attention rather than the default assumption that everything on a CMS is meant to be public-facing.
The developer who built this is gone, can it still be picked up?
Yes, this is a common starting point. Establishing what's genuinely custom versus a modified plugin needs an actual read of the code, not a guess from outside.
Does an old Craft version count as a serious problem?
Version age isn't the useful metric on its own. An older install with well-maintained plugins tends to be safer than a recent one nobody's audited. It's the plugin and Composer dependency layer that needs specific attention.
What comes with ongoing support here?
Priority handling for anything urgent, scheduled checks rather than relying on someone to spot problems first, and one developer who knows the install properly rather than whoever happens to be free.
Where this tends to come up:
Defence and marine supply firms whose site needs genuine access control, not just a login form bolted onto the front. Ferry and travel operators whose booking flow can't quietly fail during a busy crossing period, especially where Stripe is handling the payment side and needs the same standard of care as the booking flow itself. Businesses whose previous agency has gone quiet, leaving a Craft install technically live but practically unsupported. And installs old enough that every plugin needs checking individually, with Composer dependencies properly audited, before an upgrade is safe to attempt.
A one-off audit or fix is a fixed quote. Ongoing work runs monthly. Either way, the number's agreed before anything starts.
Ready to get started?
If your website is business-critical and needs a specialist who will take proper long-term ownership of it, get in touch. Karl will respond personally and give you an honest view of how we can help.
